You're Still My Big Sister
by Kirsten Erin
Summary: They had grown so close, loved one another like family. Or at least, he thought they had. Apparently, it was all one-sided. She had betrayed him. She had betrayed them all." Wally's POV during the events of Starcrossed.


_**Author's Note: Been wanting to do this for a while now. Wally and Shayera were super close, like siblings, and justice needed to be done in portraying a bit of Wally's side of the heartbreaking events of Starcrossed. John got all the attention in the show. :(**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, I only own some of the dialogue, and I was not the imagine-r of the events of Starcrossed.**_

**You're Still My Big Sister**

**A Wally/Shayera Sibling Fluffed Oneshot**

**By Kirsten Erin**

Wally held his head in his hands as he sat in yet another of the shadows that were encased in the Batcave. He kept his eyes closed and his breathing steady, promising himself that he wouldn't cry- couldn't cry. He hadn't cried since he was twelve after the last beating his dad ever gave him.

Swallowing the knot that bulged behind his adam's apple, he fought back the stinging that originated behind his eyes.

He had been betrayed, sold out, taken into captivity. After escaping, he was now being hunted and so were his friends. But that wasn't even the worst of it. The worst was that is was his sister who had betrayed him.

No, she wasn't his sister by blood. They didn't share the same childhood, the same mother, or father (lucky her)- but she was his sister nonetheless. They had grown so close, loved one another like family. Or at least, he thought they had. Apparently, it was all one-sided. She had betrayed him. She had betrayed them all.

Wally hated being angry, but that's exactly what he was right now. Hawkgirl had let him be shot down. She had given the Thanagarians his weakness, his vulnerability to gravity. His body was still hurting from the strength of the gravity beam he'd been pinned down on for seven hours. His skin was bruised where it had been pulled down against it, though those bruises were fading from a deep purple to a lighter one- they had still meritted odd looks from civilians and Thanagarians on their way here. And he hadn't missed the looks of pity and concern from Clark, Diana, and John. Those looks only made him angrier.

He normally didn't bruise that bad, not since he'd gained his speed, but the gravity had been too forceful to prevent the aforementioned bruising. He wanted to tell his friends that he'd had worse, but they wouldn't believe him. And if he convinced them, it would only raise questions about his childhood and his father's abuse.

The redhead felt the beginnings of a migraine building at the back of his skull.

Standing, Wally returned to his friends- who, in their own grief and rage, hadn't noticed his brief respite from their company. He wouldn't mourn over Hawkgirl any longer. She had chosen her own fate. She did this to them and she wouldn't get the satisfaction of winning, or of knowing that they still cared for her. She wouldn't get the satisfaction of knowing how deep they were hurting.

"Hey, cool penny!" Wally pointed out the giant penny beside the giant dinosaur he'd seen earlier. He hoped the observation of the obvious would lighten a few faces. But besides, John's rolling of the eyes, everyone's faces remained stone cold.

"Wally, were you even paying attention to what was being said?" Clark asked exhasperatedly.

"Were you expecting me to?"

"Uh-"

"We were just speculating why the Thanagarians are really here." J'onn cut in.

"Obviously not to protect us." Clark added.

"But if the Gordanians aren't actually near earth, then why do they need to build that forcefield?" Diana questioned in response.

"If it is a forcefield." Bruce, ever the skeptic, pointed out.

"Then what is it?" John asked.

"I can tell you." a piercingly familiar voice spoke from the edge of the cave.

All six figures spun around, suprise evident on each face- even Bruce's- as Hawkgirl stepped from the shadows in full Thanagarian armor. The shocked expressions were replaced with angry ones.

"You've got alot of nerve showing up here." Clark scowled pulling off his glasses to glare at her.

"We should thank you. It saves us having to hunt you down." Diana pulled up her fists, looking quite ready to pummel the girl before her.

Wally felt a sick feeling in his stomach as they all moved toward her. He didn't want to fight her and he wasn't sure he could. He didn't think he could hurt his sister. Mentally, he chastised himself for even calling her that still. Hadn't she lost the title of sister? Didn't she lose that priviledge when she chose the Hawkpeople over the League? Yet deep inside of him, he knew he could call her nothing else.

"I didn't come to fight."she said, and they stopped, intrigued but wary. "I came to help."

Wally let out a bitter laugh, "Hawkpeople all over the planet. Martial law. Us getting chased like dogs." he stated coldly and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think we can take much more of your help."

He watched her straight face waiver slightly at his harsh words and saw her eyes taking in his facial bruising. Part of him wanted to add to the burn more- to say, _You like it, Hawkgirl? You enjoy the pain you brought to me and the rest of us? It's not just my face. The only part of me that isn't bruised is my back. Look at your work, sis. Look at how you hurt me._

He didn't want to care that she softened as she took in his pain and his anger. He didn't want to care that she might be hurt by his pain, because she'd let it happen anyway. He wanted to see her be hurt by his pain and let her wallow in it.

But he did- he did care how she felt- and he hated himself for it right now.

"The situation is worse than you think." her wall was back in place. This was business now. She looked to Bruce, and Wally moved coldly out of her way as she moved toward him. "They're building a hyper-space bypass. When it's activated, it will destroy the planet and everything on it." She handed a piece of alien technology. "Here, this has all the information on the project. Believe me, I didn't know the magnitude of Talak's plans."

"We'll check it out, there's the door."

Wally followed Bruce, along with the others- passing Hawkgirl without bothering to spare her a glance. She didn't deserve it, did she?

"Well, aren't you going to turn your back on me too?" she asked. He knew it wasn't directed toward him, but he seethed nonetheless.

_They_ were turning their backs on _her_? Who was the traitor here?- Because Wally knew it wasn't him. Her statement made his blood boil.

Sure, they were turning their backs on her, but not in the same way she had. She had betrayed them, they were simply shaking the dirt off their feet- ridding themselves of her aquaintance. She sure proved she didn't want it anymore.

He didn't hear the rest of Hawkgirl and John's conversation, but he didn't want to either. It would only make him angrier and make him act out. And he knew that once he started yelling, the dam woul break. He would cry and she would know how much he still cared. He wouldn't cry in front of her. She knew one weakness, but she would not see another in him. Instead, he immersed himself in helping the others figure out what their battle plan was.

Yet the lingering hope clung to the back of his mind:

Maybe she did still love them. Maybe she truly didn't know what was really going on when she joined her people. Maybe she stll cared. After all, she had helped them.

But then again, maybe it was just a trap.

Wally bit his lower lip hard and turned back to the screen.

* * *

Wally breathed a sigh of utter relief and exhaustion as John and Diana flew down from the Thanagarian spacecraft. But someone was with them- Hawkgirl. He tensed first, then realized that she was on their side again.

His heart caught in his throat.

She wore no helmet now and he was struck by how similiar they looked. It figured, in fact it was almost comical how identical they were. He'd always known she had red hair, but never noticed it was the same color as his own or known that their eyes were the same shade of green. Beyond that, she was still in Thanagarian armor. He then saw the purple bruise on her left cheek, the irritated burn marks across her belly, and the gash across her right temple. He knew it wasn't John, or even Diana, who did that to her. It was that scum, Hro, and Wally wanted to hurt him for doing it to her.

_She chose it. She brought it upon herself._

He turned his head away, familiar stinging at the backs of his eyes, but not before catching her eye. Guilt, shame, heartbreak- all in one glance.

John's face was badly bruised and beaten, left eye swollen shut. He'd have to get his nose checked out- hopefully it wasn't broken. He held his right arm as if it were useless and Wally saw his ring was broken and hand swollen. He also had gash across his chest that was the apparent source of the dried blood on his costume. It was still bleeding, but not too badly. Thankfully, that meant it wasn't too deep. One look in his eyes told Wally that he was confused, an odd combination of love and betrayal had his heart in a twist.

Diana looked dishevelled and sported a few bruises on her shoulders and arms, but otherwise looked the least harmed of the three. Her grim countenance spoke of her continuing anger.

Wally wondered what he looked like. Did he look as badly as they did? He knew the bruises were turning yellowish by now, so the right side of his lower face, the only of his skin that was exposed, held a sickly palor. He also knew he had a few torn bits of his costume, a few bruises that would last for half an hour at the most, and a few superficial cuts that were already healing up. So he had high hopes that he didn't look as badly as they did.

The four of them and J'onn stood in a disconcerting silence, none able to speak. They couldn't find any words appropriate for this occasion. There was no whoop of victory, though they had won, because this mission had hit far too close to home. No one had _truly_ won this battle, for their apparent victory had come with a high price for each.

Superman and Batman arrived moments later, the latter sporting burns on his exposed skin along with a few singed hems on his costume.

There was another pregnant pause, too many emotions to be shared or even comprehended by those feeling them. Wally heard Batman mumble something about "Dick" in Superman's general direction. Wally felt like that name held some significance to himself, especially in connection to Bruce Wayne, but couldn't place it yet. His mind was too numb from the influx of emotions that were carrying him away.

"Everyone go home." Superman finally told them. "Check on your loved ones, make sure they are safe. But the moment you are assured of such, we need to have a meeting. Meet at Batman's home as soon as possible."

This was really only done for the benefit of Wally, Bruce, and Clark. The rest were only friends with each other. It was understood, though, that they could go straight to Wayne Manor.

Wally took one long look Hawkgirl before speeding off to find his aunt, uncle, and nephew.

* * *

Six Leaguers sat tensely around a table in the western wing of the Manor. The rays from the bleeding sun fell across the table, reflecting the bleeding edges of their hearts.

"Why are we even discussing this? She betrayed us!" Diana seethed, anger radiating from her body.

"She is still our family." J'onn responded.

"She was. She's not mine anymore."

"They lied to her. She believed we had made the first assault." Superman mentioned.

"She knows us better than that." Batman countered.

"Does she? You don't seem to." Wally retorted. "You're convinced that we could go rogue at any moment. You don't trust us, not completely. So how can you blame her?"

Batman only glared dangerously in response. Wally glared back, the Batglare was getting old.

"She exploited our weaknesses. Betrayed us." Diana, who had apparently missed the min-showdown, drew the attention back to her.

"Come on, she was in the ultimate no-win situation, but when push came to shove, she came through for us just like always." Flash defended. He never was one to hold a grudge too long. Being angry at her for a few days had felt like an eternity to him. And after hearing her side of the story, he couldn't be angry with her. Even through it all, he still counted her as his sister and honestly knew her better than most.

The look in her eyes said it all. She was sorry, she loved them, she'd never hurt them intentionally. She had believed to be helping the League and Earth all along and once she'd realized she was wrong, she righted herself as best she could.

"She is a pariah to her people. We are all she has left." J'onn backed him up.

"Believe me, J'onn. I feel for her." Superman told him. "But after everything that's happened, I honestly don't know if I could ever completely trust her again."

Silence hung for a few seconds.

"We're arguing in circles. It's time to take a vote." Batman said. The lack of emotion in his voice was characteristic of the vigilante billionaire, but today it made Wally angry- sick and angry.

When the votes were cast, Wally felt happier, but not substantially. _He_ could go back to trusting Hawkgirl completely in a cinch, but he knew it would be far harder for the others. She was going to have a hard time being a part of the team again. She hadn't won by a landslide. John had abstained from the vote, Batman and Wonder Woman had voted to kick her out, but the remaining three had given her another chance.

Wally knew she wouldn't fail them this time.

She stepped into the room, tragically beautiful as she stood before them. All present were standing now.

"Hawkgirl-"

"Please," she cut him off, lifting up her chin so she could look them each in the eye, though Wally knew she'd much rather look at the ground. "Before you start, I have something to say. I came to this planet as a patriot. I had a mission and I carried it out. What I couldn't know, was that I would come to care for the earth and her people- that I'd come to care for all of you."

Her words pained Wally as he recognized them for what they were. Her goodbye.

"I've spent the last five years torn between my feeling and my duty. I won't ask you to do the same. Therefore, I am resigning from the Justice League. Effective immediately."

Even though he'd seen it coming, if only for a few seconds, he still jerked like a stab in his heart. The moment she turned to walk away, he stepped forward.

"Hawkgirl." he touched her shoulder and she turned into his hug.

"Please, Flash." her voice cracked from where her face was buried in his costume. "Don't call me that. I'm just Shayera now." she was practically clinging to him in her goodbye.

"Then call me Wally." he said as they pulled apart. He placed firm hands on her slight shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You're still my big sister."

A small sob fell from her lips as she hurried out the door, the end of her farewell. Wally watched her go before looking back at his friends, ignoring their looks of pity for him.

"Great. No Hawkgirl, no javelin, no Watchtower. What's gonna happen to the League now? Do we all just walk away?" They'd done that once before. It didn't exactly tun out so great.

"No," J'onn assured him. "We rebuild, starting today."

"J'onn's right. Earth needs us and we'll never let her down. It's our duty." Superman tacked on.

_Let's just hope that our heart and our duty never collides like this again. I don't think we'd be able to handle that._


End file.
